Embracing food and bodies

(Pictured: left, at the Regional Flavours Festival and right, with Taryn Brumfitt at the Q&A for her documentary, EMBRACE)

We’ve had an amazing week in Brisbane. We have embraced some of the best of our regional produce and we have had a healthy lesson in the importance of embracing ourselves!

Embracing local flavours

It was a thrill to attend the Regional Flavours Festival on the weekend.  The rain could not keep the crowds away for this only free Australian food event and it was jam packed with record numbers; almost double to the previous year.

Over the course of the day, we worked our way through the gourmet stalls from more than 80 of the State’s best producers and providers, clapped along to the live music, did plenty of tasting at the food trucks and had a tipple or two at the wine tastings and bars. Research … you know how it is.

We took time out to catch some of the biggest names in Australian food as they presented onstage and showcased their cooking skills. MasterChef Australia judges’ George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston; River Cottage Australia presenter Paul West; The Living Room’s Miguel Maestre; and, culinary queen Maggie Beer, were all part of the exciting line-up.

We had so much in the Channel Ten photo booth, having our photos taken with the backdrop settings of some of our favourite Channel Ten shows including The Project and The Bachelor!

I know, we couldn’t help ourselves … can you blame us?

EMBRACE the movie

We were delighted to be asked to host the EMBRACE Q&A Session with director, Taryn Brumfitt, after the screening of her documentary last week at the Palace Barracks Cinema.

It was a sold out event with 285 attendees and the message was very inspiring and powerful. We were both blown away at this life changing documentary which all started with a non-traditional “before and after” post on social media that went viral to millions of people.

This was just the beginning of Taryn’s amazing journey which led her to travel around the globe for eight weeks interviewing some amazing people, including Turia Pitt, Mia Freedman and Ricky Lake, to name a few.

Our epiphany – we both realised how harsh and judgemental we are on ourselves and our bodies, regardless of the extraordinary achievements that we have made.  Michaela losing over 70kg, finds herself more self-critical now than she was at her heaviest, and Jennifer always complaining about her big J-Lo bootay.

This film has been so life changing for both of us, that this stops today!  We are embracing our bodies, our health and are so grateful to Taryn for this realisation.

We believe this documentary should be part of the High School curriculum for all teenage children to see, and we encourage everyone to see this film as it teaches us to be more accepting and less damaging to ourselves, which is a lesson that we would love people to learn earlier in life.

We are headed back there with our family and friends again when it is released early August at the Palace Barracks Cinema.  See you there! #ihaveembraced

Jennifer                 Michaela